PhD

abbreviation or noun

variants or Ph.D.
plural PhDs or Ph.D.s
: the academic degree, title, or rank of doctor of philosophy
He was awarded a PhD in economics.
Jane Smith, Ph.D.
also : a person who has earned the academic degree of doctor of philosophy
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Watson School of Biological Sciences graduated its first PhDs (14 of them) in June 2004 … Horace Freeland Judson

Examples of PhD in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Individual achievement will always have its place (says the woman who wrote her PhD thesis all by herself), but learning is not just a solo sport. Ann Kirschner, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025 Chatbots are designed for tasks like answering questions or helping with services, explains Lokesh Shahani, MD, PhD, MPH, a psychiatrist with UTHealth Houston and chief medical officer at UTHealth Houston Behavioral Sciences Campus. Sherri Gordon, Parents, 18 Aug. 2025 Mark Travers, PhD, is a psychologist who specializes in relationships. Mark Travers, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2025 According to Joseph Antoun, MD, PhD, there’s a clear trend among Gen Z toward earlier dining and shorter eating windows that’s being driven by two factors: health literacy and lifestyle shifts. Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 15 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for PhD

Word History

Etymology

New Latin philosophiae doctor

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of PhD was in 1839

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Cite this Entry

“PhD.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/PhD. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

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